Julian Lennon was born to Cynthia and John Lennon in 1963, the first child to be born to any of The Beatles. As a child, Julian provided the inspiration behind the massive Beatles hit, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," Lucy being a nursery school friend featured in one of his paintings. Following in his father's footsteps, Julian had immediate success on the charts with his 1984 debut album, "Valotte." In addition to the title track, which hit #9, the album yielded the #5 smash, "Too Late For Goodbyes," and the lesser-known but excellent #21 hit "Say You're Wrong." But the flame died out quickly, with Julian's only other top 40 appearance coming in 1986 when "Stick Around" topped out at #32. In 1991, Julian Lennon released an underrated effort called "Help Yourself," a snarky rebuttal to his father's band's mantra, "Help!" Despite Julian's well-documented beefs with his father, the single "Saltwater" proves he is John Lennon's son. "Saltwater" extends the message his father championed and would have made John proud. Despite achieving success in other countries, the single was a flop in the US.
Yes, I know it ain't Christmastime. But it is virtually impossible to find a John Lennon song that hasn't done well on the music charts. The genius of John Lennon goes back to his tenure in the legendary Beatles, but his solo work took on a somewhat different direction. A man all about peace and justice, many will be surprised to hear that "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" never made a chart appearance, despite its omnipresence on every radio station each December. Many other artists have covered this terrific song, but only one group managed to get the song on the charts: The Fray took it to #50 in 2006. Ironically, this beloved pacifist was taken from us too early when he was shot in December, 1980 at the height of a successful comeback.
